1999 Road Trip: Antietam

The Battle of Antietam (called the Battle of Sharpsburg in
the South; note that the Union tended to name battles after
area natural features while the Confederacy tended to name
battles after nearby towns) followed several Confederate
victories, and although it was basically a tactical draw, the
Union government made good use of it politically (prior to
Antietam, some European countries were considering
recognizing the Confederate States of America; after
Antietam, they dropped all such considerations). The Battle
of Antietam lasted just one day, September 17, 1862. It was
the bloodiest day in the history of American warfare. While
Gettysburg
posted the most casualties of any American battle, it lasted
a full three days. In the Battle of Antietam, there were
around 23,000 casualties in just one day. The Confederate
leader was General Robert E. Lee, and the Union leader was
General George McClellan.

It took place near the town of Sharpsburg near the
Antietam Creek in Maryland. The local inhabitants were
pacifists known as the "Dunkers". Their little white church
(pictured) was central to much of the fighting.

Union forces had accidentally stumbled upon a copy of the
Confederate plans and thus had massed troops in the Antietam
area. Gen. Lee had split his army into two groups, one near
Antietam and one in Harpers Ferry.
The Union plan was to engage the Antietam group before it
could regroup with the rest of the army. Things did not work
out exactly as planned; partly because Gen. McClellan grossly
overestimated the size of the Confederate Army and acted too
cautiously and too slowly. (At this time the Federal Army had
around 87,000 men while the Confederate Army had
approximately 40,000 men.)

Some of the bloodiest fighting took place in a corn field.
The species of corn being grown stood around eight feet tall,
and at first served as good cover for soldiers. Throughout
the day the field changed hands over a dozen times, and in
the end the corn had been stripped down by the bullets and
the field was strewn with bodies. Another area visciously
contested was the so-called sunken road, a short street
sunken below the land around it from erosion. Before the day
was out, it would be nearly filled with the dead. The bridge
pictured is today called the "Burnside Bridge" after the
Union General Ambrose Burnside who took it after hours of
fighting to cross Antietam Creek and provide Union
reinforcements. During that entire time, the bridge was held
by only around five hundred or so well-placed sharpshooters
on the other side.

Many volunteers from Massachusetts fought in Antietam and
there are some monuments so dedicated (there are over 300
monuments in all at Antietam).